Hufflepuff Auror
by PrincessofDucttapeland
Summary: The story of Tonks. Her involvement with the Order of the Phoenix, dealing with work, and falling for Lupin. Starts the same as "Bored." T because... well, did you read the books? See the movies? Then it shouldn't be hard to guess.
1. Bored

_AN: Hello again. Well, this started as just a brief scene in my mind, but it fed my desire to write the story of Tonks and Lupin. So, I'm keeping the first half of this chapter as its own short story as it is now (see my story "Bored"), and continuing it here. And the title may change. Suggestions welcome. Please enjoy!_

Chapter 1

Bored

Tonks had quickly heard through the grapevine at the Ministry of Magic that her teacher had been impersonated, locked in a box for the school year, and was now at St. Mungo's recovering. She knew he wouldn't stay there long, so she headed over as soon as she heard to visit Mad Eye.

"Wotcher, Mad Eye," she said as she stumbled over the visitor's chair set up next to her mentor's hospital bed.

"Purple hair, eh? I thought you'd settled on that bright green," Mad Eye said.

"Purple for now, I'm not sure about it," she said.

There was a brief awkward pause. Tonks looked around the room, as if a conversation topic would be hiding on a post-it note somewhere, waiting for her to find it.

"So, all the stories true?" she eventually asked, knowing what a cliché it sounded like.

"Probably."

_Well this is awkward_. Tonks thought. _Why did I come here again?_

"So, locked in a box all year?" she asked. He nodded his confirmation. She gave up and defaulted to her goofy personality to get her out of this.

"So all that time, stuck in a dark box, are you afraid of the dark now?" she asked.

Mad Eye snorted, which was as close as he could get to laughing. "What? No, of course not. I'm only here still because they took my clothes and I don't want to walk out of here in a hospital gown."

"Afraid of small spaces?" she asked.

"No."

"Afraid of _dark_ small spaces?" she asked.

"No."

Tonks returned to looking around the room, knowing her attempt at humor was failing. Finally, one thought about her mentor's time trapped by the enemy popped into her head, and she had to confirm it.

"You were bored, stuck doing nothing, weren't you?"

Mad Eye snorted twice.

"I have never been so bored in my life," he said. He was impressed that she knew him that well. He glanced around his empty room, glanced at the young woman sitting next to him, and made a decision. He shot off a bunch of spells one after another, at the window, the door, the ceiling, the room itself, and a few other places so fast that Tonks couldn't completely keep up. When Moody had finished this, he turned to Tonks.

"He's back, you know," he said.

"I'd heard rumors," Tonks said, knowing it was Voldemort her teacher spoke of.

"We're forming a resistance," Mad Eye said. "Build up strength now, get as many on our side as we can, fight him, _kill_ him properly this time."  
"I want to help," Tonks replied immediately.

"Good. Contact Dumbledore. Mention his phoenix, Fawkes, and mention talking to me. Don't say anything obvious, in case the letter is intercepted. Now, see if you can find someone to get me clothes so I can get out of here."

As Mad Eye said this last sentence, he flicked his wand around the room, removing all the protective spells he had put up a moment before. A bit dazed, Tonks went to find someone as Mad Eye had instructed. After making sure her mentor wasn't going to damage the frail looking healer she'd found, Tonks returned to her little apartment and pulled out a piece of paper to write to her old Headmaster.


	2. The Funny Part of All This

_AN: Hello again! Well, I must say, this is an ambitious project for me. My goal is to get the whole thing up over break. If not, it'll just slow down in updates, because I promise not to quit! Wish me luck!_

Chapter 2

The Funny Part of All This

Tonks found it strange to be walking through the halls of Hogwarts years after graduating. Her former head of house, Professor Sprout, was leading her to the Headmaster's office (as if she'd forgotten where it was!), and chatting amiably about how the first years had done on their Herbology finals that year. Tonks wasn't totally listening. She was looking around, taking in the halls that seemed so completely unchanged. She watched as Professor Sprout whispered the password to give her entrance to the stairway to the Headmaster's office.

"Good luck dear. Oh, I completely forgot to ask. Why are you here today? Need your transcripts for something?" Professor Sprout asked.

"Um, something like that," Tonks replied, dodging around the question.

"Well, good luck anyway. It's nice to see you again. Do tell your mother hello for me next time you see her."

And with a wave, Tonks' old professor headed off back to her greenhouses. Tonks turned her attention to the evil stairs that were obviously trying to make her fall over and crack her head open on the gargoyle at the bottom. She was getting dizzy from concentrating on the strange rotation of the stairs. Eventually she stepped forward and knocked on the door.

"Come in," the kind voice of Dumbledore called.

She twisted the doorknob and stepped into the Headmaster's office. Tonks was surprised to find that he was not alone.

"Hello, sir. Hello, Professor Snape," she said, walking carefully towards the desk. Dumbledore was seated behind the desk, and there were two chairs in front, one occupied by Severus Snape, one of the few wizards Tonks actually feared.

"Good afternoon, Nymphadora," Dumbledore said. Both men stood to shake her hand, and all three sat around the desk. After a pause, Tonks finally spoke, not looking directly at her old potions professor.

"Um, sir, I didn't know- I mean, I had assumed this would be a private meeting, I don't mean that, um-"

"He asked me to be here, Ms. Tonks," Snape replied to her unasked question.

"Oh," she said quietly. She could feel her hair darkening a shade in response to her desire to avoid Snape's attention and criticism. There were few people who could inflict such nervousness in her so quickly.

"Nymphadora, I spoke with Alastor Moody earlier today. He says he informed you that a second Order of the Phoenix was being formed to counter Voldemort, and that you expressed a desire to be involved in such a group. Is this true?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes, sir," she said. She couldn't figure out what this had to do with Snape at all.

"You understand why such a group would be wary about admitting new members, right?" he asked. She nodded.

"It's not the safest thing, I guess. I mean, anyone new is a potential risk, a potential information leak," she said.

"Yes. For this reason, you also understand why we are suspicious of you," Dumbledore said.

After a second, Tonks nodded again. "I'm as much a risk as can be. I work at the Ministry, and have no connection to the Order, other than Mad Eye. But really, I'm not going to sit here and argue my case, because my word's no more proof than my showing up here."

Dumbledore laughed. "Oh, very good, very good. You are right. Words without backing are rather meaningless. It would take something rather drastic to convince us that you were not a risk, wouldn't it?"

Tonks nodded again, more slowly this time. She glanced at Snape out of the corner of her eye. The word "drastic," Snape in the room, Dumbledore not getting to the point… Tonks was getting more and more nervous by the second.

"Is there something… specific you had in mind? For me to prove myself?" she asked.

"Yes, and I can tell from the look on your face that you already know you're not going to like it," Dumbledore said.

"To cut to the chase, Ms. Tonks," Snape said, cutting in, "We believe it most prudent to perform Legilimency on you to try and discover your intentions. Veritaserum is too unpredictable, and motivations can't always be determined that way. I will enter your mind with a specific purpose, and touch only the areas that I need to."

"…You're kidding, right?" Tonks asked. There was really nothing else to say.

"Though it sounds rather invasive, you have just admitted that it is necessary that we, as a group, protect ourselves from allowing entrance to any that would seek to harm our organization. Professor Snape would be the only one to use Legilimency on you, and I know you understand that he's not one to go telling what he would see in your mind," Dumbledore said.

"I'm an Auror," Tonks said. "I'm trained in Occlumency."

"So you know that you are perfectly capable of allowing in anyone you choose, not just keeping them out," Snape replied with an air about him that said he was resisting rolling his eyes.

She didn't want Snape, of all people, allowed access to her mind, whether looking to see if she was a threat to the Order of the Phoenix or not. However, she was running out of excuses.

"I know it's not a preferred method of initiation," Dumbledore said.

Tonks nodded, and sat up, determined. "I find 'not preferred' to be an understatement," she said. She turned to her old Potions professor. "I guess I just have to trust you, is the funny part of all this."

Snape's unwavering face wavered for a second. Possibly it wavered towards surprise. Or maybe respect. But most likely, it was controlled laughter that crossed his expression.

"I take that as permission?" Snape asked. A quick nod, and she purposefully dropped her mental guards.

"Legilimens!"

A moment later, Tonks felt her mind become freed of the foreign presence, and heard Snape say, "Yes, she'll be fine."

With that, the professor stood and left without a word.

It was a long time before Tonks found out what had been seen in her mind.


	3. Sacrifices

_A/N: So, I must admit, I'm not entirely sure where I'm going with this. It might focus on her job and how things there changed. It might suddenly switch to Remus's point of view. Please bear with me. :)_

Chapter 3

Sacrifices

"Nymphadora, you know the sacrifices associated with joining a group like the Order of the Phoenix, correct?" Dumbledore asked.

Tonks was getting a bit tired of the leading questions and use of her first name, and was distracted wondering what had convinced Snape that she would be "fine" for the Order.

"Yes, sir," she replied, realizing it had been a couple seconds too long between his asking the question and her responding.

"I know there is a lot to think about, but please listen," Dumbledore said, trying to not laugh at the distracted young woman in front of him. "We have specific jobs that we would like you, as an Auror, to accomplish. I have to admit, that it is likely that you will lose your job at some point because of us. We may call on you in the middle of the night, and then you'll have to go to work tired. Or we may ask you to spy on someone in the Ministry, and that will make people suspicious. Basically, expect your work performance to suffer."

_This was _not_ the speech I was expecting_. Tonks thought.

"Your family and friends are no longer people you can trust. There is absolutely no one you know that you can talk to about being a member of the Order of the Phoenix. It is lonely. And finally, the Order is dangerous. You are an Auror, so you know already about risks and danger. However, I would venture to say that it might be a bit more of a risk directly opposing Voldemort."

After a pause, Dumbledore asked, "Do you have any questions that you would like me to answer?"

"Do you give that depressing speech to all new recruits?" Tonks asked.

Dumbledore chuckled. "Well, I just want to make sure you enter this with a realistic idea of what you're getting in to. You're young, you have a good career, a loving family. All of this could be taken from you with ease by joining this resistance. Are you willing to give up that much for this?"

Tonks gave it a moment's thought. She did have a very good life. But she knew what her decision would be.

"I'm an Auror. My goal in life is to stop dark wizards from making the world a terrible place. I work hard to make that happen within the Ministry, and I plan to keep working there until I'm physically unable to catch anyone. It only makes sense that I would take every opportunity to bring down the dark side. I want to help. I want to do what I can to help bring down the worst of the dark wizards in this world, even at the risk of all I have. This is what I've always wanted to do. I just hope I can help."

"Very good," Dumbledore said. "Well, on to the good points. Order members work very closely with each other, so it's like gaining a family. While you will have to be careful to not suddenly become closer to them and raise suspicion, there are a few others in your department at work that are on our side. Oh! And speaking of family, this may come as a surprise to you."

"What will?" Tonks asked, watching the Headmaster's eyes twinkle with his little secret he was about to reveal.

"What involvement have you had in the efforts to recapture Sirius Black?" Dumbledore asked.

"Wait, you mean, he's been caught?" Tonks asked. She had worked very little on the attempts to find her mother's cousin, but was very eager to get him behind bars again.

"Oh no," Dumbledore said with a chuckle. "No, he's innocent."

"What?" Tonks asked. Were dumb tricks and hazing part of the initiation into the Order of the Phoenix?

"He was framed by Peter Pettigrew, who is not dead, and is in fact, serving Voldemort now."

"How is any of this true?" Tonks asked, getting a bit annoyed.

"Oh, it is very true. I'm sure Sirius would love to tell you the tale himself though, so I'll leave that to him. I just wanted to make sure you knew this before seeing him."

"Uh huh."

"In fact, why don't we head over there for dinner? Molly Weasley is an excellent cook, I hear," Dumbledore said, standing and gesturing towards the door. Tonks stood as well, and the pair headed out of the castle and towards Hogsmead to apparate to headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix.


	4. This Chapter Ends With Takeout Food

_A/N: I'm not sure what took so long with this chapter. Sorry for the wait!_

Chapter 4

This Chapter Ends With Takeout Food

Secret-Keeper Dumbledore showed Tonks the headquarters and held the door open for her to enter the creepy house. Tonks had a slightly irrational fear of entering new houses, especially dark ones. Because of this, she was extra-careful navigating the hallway, and managed to get to the end of the hall without incident. Dumbledore stopped in the entryway to talk to a man that Tonks later learned was Elphias Doge, so she continued on towards the kitchen on her own.

A few things happened when Tonks opened the door to the warm (and considerably much cleaner) kitchen from the hall. First, she tripped over the stairs down into the room. Then, she felt a spell zoom over her head, and looked up to see her boss, Kingsley Shaklebolt, with his wand drawn and pointed at where she had been standing. Tonks did not fall all the way to the floor, but instead crashed into a man she had tried a couple times to arrest, Mundungus Fletcher. As she knocked Mundungus off balance, she heard Severus Snape sigh and say, "I didn't expect Dumbledore to take you here right away. Really, sometimes he's too trusting."

Tonks blocked out the petty thief she should probably be arresting, Snape's snarky comments, and her own jarred ankle to respond to the fact that someone, probably her boss, had just tried to hit her with some spell, and put up a shield charm.

"How did you get in here?" Kingsley yelled.

"Why are you attacking me?" Tonks yelled back.

"Now, everyone calm down!" said Sirius Black, who Tonks also had an impulse to arrest, no matter what Dumbledore said about him being innocent.

"What is going on? Who are you?" a red headed woman asked, turning away from the dinner she was preparing and drawing her own wand.

"Identify yourself," Kingsley demanded, taking a couple steps closer to Tonks.

"Auror Tonks, your employee?" she said, hoping that counted for identification.

"What was the last paper you handed to me at the office?" Kingsley asked.

"What?"

"Just answer!" Kingsley said, raising his wand another inch closer to her face.

"Well, I think it was… wasn't it my RSVP to your birthday party?"

Kingsley relaxed a bit, but still held his wand at the ready.

"How did you get in here?" he asked.

"Um, with Dumbledore?" she said, glancing back at the hallway where she had last seen the wizard.

' "I just approved her this morning, Kingsley," Snape said from his corner of the room.

"Oh. Okay. Welcome," Kingsley said, putting his wand away and reaching to shake Tonks' hand.

As Tonks shook her boss's hand, she turned to Snape to glare. Had he just said that he knew she was okay, this could have been avoided.

"Well, now that I've overreacted to seeing an Auror by assuming you were a spy for Cornelius Fudge and here to arrest us all, let me introduce you to everyone," Kingsley said.

"Well, I know Snape, Mundungus, and Sirius," Tonks said. She looked around the room. The only other people in the room were the red headed woman and a short man with a purple top hat who was seated at the table with Snape.

"Ah yes. Well, this is Dedalus Diggle," he said, gesturing towards the man, who tipped his hat in Tonks' direction. She smiled and gave a small wave.

"And this is Molly Weasley, Arthur Weasley's wife," Kingsley said. The Auror department had worked with the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office on many occasions, so Tonks knew Arthur Weasley. She reached out and shook the woman's hand.

"This is Nymphadora Tonks," Kingsley said to those that did not know her. "She works with me, and she's a bright young Auror. So who recruited you?"

"I'm Tonks, don't call me Nymphadora. But Mad Eye did recruit me. I went to visit him at St. Mungo's and I said I wanted to join," Tonks said.

"Well, it's very nice to know we have one more on our side," Mrs. Weasley said.

"Do you need any help with dinner?" Tonks asked, seeing vegetables on a cutting board and a few pots on the stove.

"Oh, thank you. Do you mind taking care of the salad while I finish up here?" Mrs. Weasley asked, handing Tonks a knife.

"Do you really think that's a good idea?" Kingsley asked Snape quietly. Snape watched as the most dangerous of his former students took a knife into her hands and went to stand near a hot stove.

"No, but I'm betting it'll be amusing."

By the time Dumbledore reached the kitchen with the rest of the Order members that were showing up for the meeting that night, the damage was done. Of the seven people in the room, five were crying, three had severe burns, two were missing eyebrows, and all seven were bruised and bleeding.

At least, that was the story that Sirius told to Remus Lupin as they sat down to a takeout meal that Tonks had paid for to replace the dinner she had ruined.


	5. It's Plot Exposition

_AN: So, please keep in mind that I wrote this mostly between the hours of 2 and 5 AM. And hey, why are most of my reviews from my baby sister? Brownie points if you know where the chapter title comes from.  
_

Chapter 5

It's Plot Exposition, It Has to Go Somewhere

The first meeting of the Order of the Phoenix that Tonks attended was confusing at best. After she was briefly introduced, all she got out of the meeting was that two things (or people, she wasn't sure) needed guarding, only certain people were allowed to recruit new members, and that spies were needed everywhere in the wizarding world. As soon as the meeting ended, Dumbledore started to head towards the door and back to Hogwards. Tonks left the corner she had been banished to by Molly Weasley and followed him into the hallway.

Just as Dumbledore's hand reached the doorknob, he heard a timid "Um, excuse me," from behind him.

"Ah, Nymphadora," he said, turning to see his new recruit looking a bit lost.

"So, um, I have no idea what's going on or how I can help," she said.

"Ah, yes, I did leave you rather short on background information, didn't I?" Dumbledore said. "Well, I have just the group to answer your questions here."

He walked over to the table with the new recruit.

"Sirius, Remus, Arthur, Bill, please orient our newest recruit to the group's inner workings. I have business that I must attend to," Dumbledore said, pulling out a chair for Tonks at the table with the four men. She thanked him, and Dumbledore went off on his mysterious business as Tonks took a second look at the group.

"That _is_ you, Bill!" Tonks exclaimed, managing to slip while trying to take her seat. She slammed her head into the table with a _thunk_. While the Mauraders and Mr. Weasley all froze to see what damage Tonks had done to her own skull, Bill laughed.

"And that is definitely you, Tonks," Bill said, unconcerned for his friend. He had witnessed too many of her accidents and knew which ones to actually worry about and which ones she would shake off.

"Not bleeding, am I?" Tonks asked, pushing her hair back from the spot she had bonked. Lupin was sitting closest, and leaned over to check for her.

"Looks like just a bump," he replied.

"Thanks," she said, and turned back to her friend from Hogwarts days.

"So last I heard you were in Egypt," Tonks said to Bill.

"Just got back, actually," he said. "I was working for Gringotts out there, now I've got a desk job here."

"Sounds awful," Tonks said.

"I did it to be involved with the Order here," Bill said. "But you now, you've got to be crazy. Working for the Ministry and the Order? Good luck on that."

"I get by on pure talent. Luck has nothing to do with it," Tonks said.

"Keep thinking that," Kingsley said as he passed by the table. Tonks rolled her eyes.

"Dad, I think you met Tonks back when I was in school?" Bill said, turning to his father.

"You mean that little ball of energy Hufflepuff girl is the metamorphmagi Auror?" Arthur asked, looking from his son to Tonks, trying to reconcile his memory of the little girl with what he knew of the young woman he had worked with a couple times in the past year.

"You're a metamorphmagi?" Lupin and Sirius asked at the same time, leaning forward with identical expressions of surprise and awe on their faces.

Tonks made her ears grow and nose shrink in response.

"I have the coolest cousin in the world," Sirius said proudly. Tonks laughed.

"Well, I'd like to put it to good use for the Order," Tonks said, steering the conversation back to her orientation. "What exactly are we doing to work against You-Know-Who?"

Between the four of them, Tonks was filled in on guard duty for the prophesy and "babysitting" Harry Potter. They related Sirius' story of innocence, and told her to just put up with Mundungus for the time being. They also explained the policy on recruiting new Order members.

"You can't recruit anyone. Ever," Arthur Weasley said.

"Really? Isn't one of the goals to get more people to join?" Tonks asked. By now it was just the five of them and Mrs. Weasley in the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley was still trying to find the knife Tonks had used to "help" with dinner.

"Yes, definitely. But like me, you work in the Ministry of Magic. You will find that we are more help to the Order just by keeping our jobs and listening at the water cooler than by bringing in a person a day. Even if someone approaches you saying they want to join the Order of the Phoenix and could you please get them in contact so they can help, you deny any knowledge of the group. Threaten to report them, even. _Then_ come tell us and we'll get someone to follow them around and see if it would be a good idea to recruit them or not," Arthur said.

"Sounds good," Tonks said. "So what can I do?"

"Keep your ears and eyes open," Lupin said. "In the Auror office you will hear things that we need to know. Also, we have a schedule for both guard duties. Sign up for as many spots as you can. We need new blood, everyone's exhausted; we're stretched a bit thin at the moment."

Sirius flicked his wand to bring the schedule fluttering on to the table. Tonks leaned over to look at the paper, and shook her head.

"I don't know what my schedule is for the next few days," she said. "Can I come back tomorrow and sign up?"

"Sirius stays here all the time, for obvious reasons," Lupin said. "And I'll be here most of the day. Stop by whenever you get a chance. Just make sure you're not followed."

Tonks nodded and looked at the clock on the wall. "Well, I should be going. Thank you all very much. And Bill, we really do need to catch up sometime soon."

The group said their goodbyes and left. Sirius had watched his best friend closely that day, and knew he would have some questions for him in the morning.


	6. Move Your Butt

_AN: Please do not expect me to update this quickly normally. It's been a slow couple of days. XD And if this seems a little OOC... Well, really, there's no excuse. I'm just having fun with this. :P Please enjoy.  
_

Chapter 6

Move Your Butt

"So what did you think of my little cousin?" Sirius asked the second Remus walked in to the library.

"Good morning to you, too."

"Answer."

"It's too early for questions," Lupin said, sitting down at a desk to organize some of the papers documenting the actions of the Order. He had promised he would be done with them by that evening, and was not in the mood for hyper, bored Sirius or his friend's obsession with matching him up with the women of the Order of the Phoenix.

"It's three in the afternoon!"

"I just got here."

"Tell meeeee…" Sirius said, sitting on the desk on the papers Lupin was working with.

"Move your butt."

"Tell meeee…"

"Looks like she'll be a good addition to the team. Now move your butt."

"Aaaaaand?"

"And I'm working so move your butt."

"You liiiiiike her!"

"Levicorpus!"

Upside down, Sirius grinned. "I'm right! You always hung me and James up by our ankles when we guessed who you liked!"

"I did that when you guessed wrong, too!" Lupin said defensively.

"No you didn't. When we guessed wrong you'd just keep reading. I'm right!"

"I couldn't keep reading, your butt was in the way!"

A crashing in the hall and the beginnings of the screams from Mrs. Black's portrait stopped their argument. Lupin released Sirius (a bit abruptly, he was still a bit miffed) and the two crept towards the door with their wands raised. They eased the door open to find Tonks standing over the troll leg umbrella stand, which had tipped and spilled its contents across the hall.

"Sirius?" Tonks tried to yell over the portrait.

Sirius started swearing and attempting to silence the portrait. Lupin knelt down to pull the heavy umbrella stand up and started shoving walking sticks and umbrellas back in it. Tonks smiled apologetically at him and turned to her mother's cousin who was still swearing under his breath, the curtain back over his mother's portrait.

"I didn't want my umbrella to drip on the carpet, I'm sorry-" she started to say, but Sirius shook his head, cutting her off.

"Don't worry about it. Come on, just leave the stand," he said, walking back in to the study, sitting again on Lupin's papers.

"The portrait is of his mother," Lupin explained to Tonks, continuing to re-fill the umbrella stand. "She goes into screaming fits if she's disturbed by a lot of noise."

"Oh," she said, looking at the curtain covering the angry woman. "Yeah, I can see why he wouldn't like that much."

"I have the schedule," Sirius called, pulling a paper from underneath his left thigh.

Lupin gestured to the doorway, allowing Tonks to enter the library ahead of him. As she took the schedule to look over what slots were open for guard duty, Sirius wiggled his eyebrows at his best friend, who rolled his eyes.

"Well," Tonks said, looking up at her cousin, who immediately schooled his features and snapped his head in her direction, looking innocent. "I signed up for a few days. I need to get back to work. I said I was stepping out to grab a birthday present for Kingsley, so I've got to head over to Diagon Alley."

"Here's an idea!" Sirius said with a bit of an evil grin. "Why don't you take Remus here with you for your first guard duty and your first Harry-sitting?"

"Oh, no, she won't want-" Lupin said, trying to stop Sirius and his obnoxious matchmaking attempts.

"Sure, good idea. Do you mind? Are you free those days?" Tonks asked, handing Lupin the schedule. He glanced at it and nodded.

"Cool. Meet you here like fifteen minutes beforehand?" she asked. He nodded again.

"Great. See ya," she said, waving as she headed out. She carefully held the umbrella stand in place with one hand and removed her umbrella with the other, glancing at the covered portrait uneasily as she did.

"So! You like her," Sirius said the second the door closed. "I watched you yesterday. You couldn't keep your eyes off her."

"Her hair is purple," Lupin said, smirking. "It's hard not to look at purple hair. Honestly, being trapped in this house is getting to you."

"You don't like her even a teeny, tiny bit?" Sirius asked hopefully.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I do not like your cousin (who I met less than 24 hours ago) even a teeny, tiny bit."

And he meant it.


	7. New Family

_AN: I will give 10 points to whoever is first to tell me what comic I reference in this chapter. Whoever has the most points by the second to last chapter will get a cameo in the last chapter. And sorry this took so long, it was just one of those weeks. XD Enjoy!  
_

Chapter 7

New Family

"I feel like this would be really boring alone," Tonks whispered to Remus. They were huddled under an invisibility cloak borrowed from Mad Eye in the Hall of Prophesies. The long, echo-y halls were cold and unlit except for the glowing spheres lining row after row of shelves.

"For the third time, you don't need to whisper. You put the silencing charm on the cloak yourself," Remus Lupin said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, I know, but even if I wasn't under the cloak, this place always sort of intimidates me," she said, looking around.

The pair was four hours in to their six hour shift, and they had been talking most of the time. It had started with Tonks questioning Lupin about the first Order of the Phoenix, what Harry had seen in the graveyard, what the plan was to combat the Death Eaters, and anything else she could think of to catch herself up on the fight. After this, Tonks had started asking questions about Sirius.

"I grew up sort of isolated from my mom's family because they had disowned her, and isolated from my dad's family because they were Muggles," Tonks said, poking at the invisibility cloak's shiny fabric. "It's sort of weird, having a cousin all of the sudden."

"Well, he could use some family right now," Remus said. "He isn't happy, shut up in that house. If you could have seen him before all this, I bet you two would have been fast friends."

This, of course, had lead to the two of them discussing their Hogwarts days.

"Oh no," Tonks said, laughing, "Now I'm scared of you."

"What, because I was a prefect?" Lupin asked.

"Yes! Even years afterwards, that paranoid fear of getting caught doing something wrong by a prefect doesn't go away."

"Well, I promise not to report you to the headmaster unless you do something really horrible."

They talked about Quidditch, they compared worst job experience stories (Lupin won with his tale of working in a bookstore that had Gilderoy Lockhart signing books that day and getting mobbed by his fans), and eventually lapsed into silence for a while.

"So, have I ever arrested you?" Tonks asked.

"That was out of the blue…" Remus said, turning to look at Tonks. He determined either she was trying to make a joke that he didn't get and was very good at a deadpan face, or she seriously was wondering if she had arrested him before.

"Yes or no? I won't care if I have," she said.

"No. No, I can't say I've ever been arrested at all." He then muttered under his breath, "Of course, there _was_ the Noodle Incident." He looked at Tonks. "But you were probably, like, five then."

"Well, I doubt I arrested you then, seeing as my ambition at that age was to be the best artist-ballerina-Minister for Magic-dragon tamer ever."

"And what happened? You gave up on your dreams so young?" Lupin asked jokingly.

"Well, it would have all worked, but dragons just don't seem to like me," Tonks replied.

"Of course."

After another pause, Lupin asked, "So, why did you think you had arrested me?"

"Oh, well, you look familiar. I see a million faces every day, and people are always coming in and out of our department, so I figured I had seen you at work at some point."

"You thought you had seen me at your work, so your first assumption is that you arrested me? What if I was consulting for Scrimgeour? Or had valuable information? Or maybe I'm a traveling salesman, and I came to your desk to sell you some useless trinket?" Lupin said. He had suddenly remembered where she had seen him before, and wanted to redirect the conversation before she figured it out. Thankfully for him, Tonks laughed and dropped that line of conversation.

"Fair enough. So what's the Noodle Incident?" Tonks asked.

"They can't prove I did that," Lupin said calmly.

A low whistling could be heard from the entryway to the Hall of Prophesies, and Lupin informed Tonks that this was the signal that their replacement had arrived for their shift. They stood, walked to the doorway and passed off the invisibility cloak to Hestia Jones.

"Well, see you Tuesday evening for Harry-sitting?" Tonks asked Lupin as they walked up the steps of headquarters.

"Sure, I'll meet you here fifteen minutes early, same as before," he said.

"Thanks. I know Sirius sort of volunteered you for this, but I do appreciate it. See you Tuesday," she said.

Tonks disapparated home, and Lupin went in to keep his best friend company.

"So, how's my little cousin?" Sirius asked, looking up from the book he was reading.

"She asked a lot of questions about you," Lupin said, sitting down next to Sirius.

"Really? Why? What sort of questions?"

"She said she didn't have much contact with her family growing up, and wants to get to know her cousin. You should talk to her more, get to know her."

"Yeah, sure," Sirius said.

"The Noodle Incident also came up at one point," Lupin said, watching his friend's reaction closely.

"No one can prove we did that," Sirius said calmly.


End file.
